Semiconductor devices, including encapsulated semiconductor devices, typically form part of larger electronic assemblies.
An illicit market exists to harvest or remove such encapsulated semiconductor devices from corresponding electronic assemblies for resale, and subsequent mounting to other electronic assemblies. Such harvesting can compromise the integrity of the encapsulated semiconductor device (e.g., life expectancy, performance characteristics, etc.) Moreover, the market has become increasingly sophisticated at removal techniques due to advancing technologies.
Despite efforts to date, a need remains for devices and techniques that detect post-manufacture counterfeiting of and/or tampering with encapsulated semiconductor devices.